PaawHouse magazine were looking for stories where the owner had been inspired by their dog. 

Hmm...sounded just like our Sarah. Can’t get more inspiring than helping your Dad totally change career. 

I put the writing hat on again and her story has just been published.

Sarah's Story

#prouddad

Multimodal therapy in one session

Rescue girl Bambi had developed a limp from her right rear leg which has been slow to respond to rest or medications. 

Bambi was lying on the mat with the PEMF mat below and started her therapy session laying there while also receiving Red Light Phototherapy. That’s 2 therapies. 

Bambi then had the smaller PEMF mat directly on her rear leg while I gave her some massage. Therapies = 3 

Chris then took over with Bambi and gave her some Trigger Point therapy and stretching. Therapies up to 4. 

At the end she did not want to leave the treatment room. Relaxation = therapy 5. 

Multimodal in one session. 

#result

New Best Friend

Sometimes, you meet a dog for the first time and they immediately decide that you are to be their Best Friend Forever – and it is reciprocated. 

Meet 3 year old Golden Retriever Archie. A big goofy soppy cuddly fluff ball. We worked in the garden and he simply sat on me – for 45 minutes. My legs had totally gone to sleep by the end but Archie was not going to miss one millisecond of his therapy. 

He had been displaying stiffness in his back. He greeted me through the front gate with the biggest smile “Oh hi…you’re Dr Les. I love you already” before sitting on me as I made myself comfy on the lawn. 

As soon as I touched his lower back, he just threw his head up with a huge grin – that was the spot. Heat came from the area, his eyes rolled in bliss and his smile reached his ears. 
 
The tension had worked itself up his spine into his neck. He adored all the attention and help. 

After a while he turned over and gave an enormous stretch on his back – a stretch that went all the way from his neck to his tail. No tension there now. I said to his Mum to look at the stretch, when he huge looked up at me and stretched his front legs even further – just to show us both that he could. So many times, when talking about a dog with their Mum or Dad during a session, the dog seems to listen and display what we are talking about. In Archie’s case, it meant a l-o-n-g dog.

He even managed to have a darn good scratch at the end, which he hadn’t been able to do. 

When he walked off he had his Retriever mince back, his fur was positively flowing around his like a prize Afghan Hound and he was soooo happy. 

An amazing boy and my latest BFF.

Job done

I hadn’t seen handsome collie Bob for a couple of years. Recently he had an operation with some uncomfortable post-surgical complications requiring restriction of his mobility and wearing a collar so he couldn’t get to the wound site. 

All this made Bob an unhappy boy. His Mum rightly asked if I could go over to give him a check over before he resumes normal Bob Duties. 

When I last visited, Bob kept his toy ball in his mouth throughout. This time it was a deer antler. Things don’t change – just the comforter. At the first session, he was a textbook dog to work with. At that time, I imagined the conversation in his collie head going something like : 

“Ok…that was lovely but I’ll just go for a walk round the sofa” 

“And hello I’m back” 

“Ok…I’ll go for a walk again” 

“And bring back my toy to hold” 

“Ok…I’ll go and sit by Mum and rest against the sofa” 

“Oh this is nice, I’ll just close my eyes” 

“Hmm…I’m sliding down onto the floor” 

“Ok, I’ll just stay here and sleep” 

“I feel like a stretch….oooooo… l-o-n-g stretch” 

“And I’ll do another one – ‘coz I can now” 

Still nothing changes. The script was exactly the same except we were in a different room and he couldn’t get round the sofa. Otherwise it was lots of “oohs and ahhs” interspersed with “I have to walk away for a moment – but I’ll be back”. It was as if he had speech bubbles coming out of his mouth his reactions were so clear. 

And he slid down on the floor in front of the sofa – just as I told his Mum he would. Which is where he stayed. 

His lack of activity plus discomfort had scrunched him up – tight neck and back. Just touching them started to make him longer and release the heat from the restricted fascia. I could see how long he was getting by the space he was taking up in front of the sofa. 

At the end, he got up, did an enormous Dog Yoga stretch one way and then the other. Big shake. And dropped the antler as though it were a Mic Drop! Very dramatic Bob. 

I think that was a Job Done moment.

Canine Reiki

Recently, 7 year old Miniature Dachshund Rufus started dipping slightly from his back left leg. In his short life, he has already undergone 2 major spinal operations due to fenestrated vertebrae and his Mum was rightly conscious of the need to help him through any new mobility issues as soon as possible. 

He appreciates some calming Reiki work during his massage, so Chris went to give a double therapy session. 

He was very excited to see him. And responsive, settling in for some muscle tension release and compression, which is one of his favourite techniques. All the while, also getting some calming Reiki. 



His Mum was astounded by his response and the way he looked even longer at the end of the session. His whole body also felt warmer and softer. He’d clearly been taking all the therapies in.

"Oh....she needed that"

We hear that quite a lot. A dog who hasn’t been able to settle, gets straight into the massage zone and stays there for the full hour long session. 

11 year old Staffie Pickle had just recovered from an operation which has limited her free walks. Her Dad wanted me to go over and give her a therapy session now that everything has healed so she doesn’t harm anything when she finally becomes harness-less. 

I’ve visited her 4 times now and she has her own pattern during the session. At first, she simply won’t settle, meaning I sit on the floor by the mat and catch up with her Dad until she decides she is ready. That can be 10 or 20 minutes. And she can settle anywhere in the room. Also during the session, she has several ups and downs. 

This time though, she totally amazed us both. She was ready on the mat within seconds. And her left arm (where she had been operated) was up in the air waiting for some help. 

And there she stayed. A full 60 minutes of snuffling, grunting, sighing, Staffie noises. But as soon as the session was over, she woke up, looked around as though to say “Oh….there you both are” and made her way to her favourite chair to sit in the sun for the rest of the day. A longer, happier more comfy Pickle than an hour previously. 

Yes, she needed that.

Trust

It’s a very special moment when the dog you’re working with gives you their total trust. You can feel it. It might be physical where they relax and slump into your arms. Or it could be a glance up at you with soft eyes that are no longer showing discomfort. Or a sighing snore. Whichever way they show it, it is always special. 

Staffie Pixie loves playing with her new adopted brother Bobi. But he’s bigger than her, 9 years younger and a lot clumsier. Regardless of all that, they have great fun together. Except when their play became over exuberant resulting in Pixie hurting her back. 

She was taken straight to the vet who gave her some anti-inflammatories to ease the discomfort. We visited her about a week later armed with all our Achy Tools – the PEMF mat, the Red Light phototherapy machine and Chris, our Reiki practitioner and back work specialist. 

She was, understandably, a little reluctant at first but with calming Reiki and gentle touch she eased her way into the session. As she was sitting in Chris’s lap, we had the PEMF mat snuggled into her back at the same time. This meant she was being treated from all sides – Reiki, massage and pulsed frequencies. That’s a great cooking recipe. 

She made lots of “I quite like this” noises but also had the Staffie “I’m not going to give in” attitude. Until she did. And gave that Trust Look. She turned round, looked up at Chris with huge Staffie eyes and that was it. She was clearly feeling relieved. 

Special – very special